Lifestyle

Upon approaching The Lincoln Center plaza during Fashion Week, I quickly learned that the show outside is just as entertaining as the one inside. I’m pretty sure that New York City is a place where people want to be seen, and what bigger stage to be seen than Fashion Week? Fashionistas from around the world pack into this one small area for an entire week, wearing the most lavish and extravagant outfits they could find in their closets.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week S/S 2012 was not only my first fashion week, but it was my first time in NYC as well. I’ve been all over this country – LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas – but NYC and Miami have eluded me. Arriving in New York, my focus was to make sure that I was prepared for the runway shows and presentations. I was mentally ill-equipped for what I would see during my down time.

I’m sorry, but if someone steps on THOSE shoes, killing the offender is a justifiable reaction. I’m just saying. lol

The next time I return to New York for fashion week, now that I know what to expect, I will put much more emphasis on my street photography. This is a fraction of what I got, but what I got is a fraction of what I saw. I need to get enough street portraits to last me a few dozen blogs.

I like the look on the young lady above, particularly that piece around her neck.

The woman above reminds me of an older version of Krista, the winner of America’s Next Top Model a couple seasons ago. That hat is like a church hat on Super Mario mushrooms. lol I’ve also found myself wondering how I look in the photo that the man behind her is taking.

I did a blog on the young lady pictured above! Check it here ——> https://michaellacombe.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/mercedes-benz-fashion-week-ss-2012-caught-in-a-crowd/

Another common phenomena at fashion week is celebrity sightings. I saw more celebrities in my few days at fashion week than I did during my entire 2 years living in California. Granted, that’s an easy number to top since the only “celeb” I saw in Cali was Cornel West when I went to his book signing. I didn’t always have a camera ready, but I was still able to capture a few celebs during my time in NYC. Again, the next time I go, I’ll know to be ready at all times. I’m mad that I missed opportunities to photograph the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Susan Sarandon, Tim Gunn, and others. Anyway, here’s a few that I DID get…

Miss J from America’s Next Top Model.

Uber fine model, Selita Ebanks. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.

Object of my thirst that no Gatorade can quench, celeb stylist June Ambrose.

I had all kinds of hilarious insult-captions, but I’ll behave. Omarion. lol

Husband of the star of “Lala’s Full Court Life,” Carmelo Anthony. I think he plays a sport, too. Badminton maybe? 🙂

Philadelphia 76ers forward, Andre Iguodala. Are they even called the 76ers anymore? They’re officially just the “Sixers” now, right? When I saw him walk into the show I was photographing, I tweeted him asking if it was him that had walked in, and he actually responded. He also (obviously) posed for one of these pictures. NICE! Props to Iggy!

And last but not least, one of the most-hated women worldwide, Kim Humphries. What? She’s not married anymore? News to me. Well I guess it’s Kim Kardashian, then. Like her or not, this photograph was a huge score for me. While the reason for her fame may be … non-existent … her fame itself is undeniable. Photographing Kim K was one of my biggest wins during all of fashion week.

On that note, my friends, my coverage of #MBFW is finally at an end. It’s been real! I hope you all have enjoyed my coverage a fraction as much as I enjoyed living and chronicling it.

I spotted this young lady amid a huge crowd in the Lincoln Center plaza following a fashion show. I was wandering around the plaza, looking for people to photograph for posts just like this one. I did particularly well that day, for the record.

Anyway, for obvious reasons, she caught my eye. While my goal was to photograph people with an interesting look, when you spot a pretty young lady and your camera is at-the-ready, you’d be a fool not to take the photo. I raised my camera, and as soon as I went to press the shutter, some asshole walked in front of my shot. lol No, he didn’t do it on purpose, but yes, he is still an asshole. Well, at least he WAS.

Upset that my perfectly framed photo had been ruined, I snapped a few more photos and went about my business. When I finally looked at the photo in the back of my camera, I thought, “Hey, that ain’t half bad! This may require a closer look on the monitor.” Sure enough, when I viewed the full size photo, I was stunned. Not only did I like my mistake, I loved it. The fact that the passing gentleman’s silhouette (yes, he’s now a gentleman and no longer an asshole) perfectly curved around her face, turned what I originally perceived to be a missed opportunity into a stroke of good luck. The fact that only her face is in focus, adds some mystery to her. Who is she? What is she looking at? Where is she? What is she thinking? The fact that there is no story, is the story.

Anyway, I figured I’d throw this photo up here for today’s blog post in order to buy myself some time to figure out what fashion show I want to post on Wednesday. lol I hope you guys like the photo, but it doesn’t really matter because I like it. 🙂 Oh, and here’s one more photo of her, unobstructed.

This show was interesting for a number of reasons. For starters, I got to shoot backstage for this one. Shooting backstage always has the potential to be interesting. Out of all the photographers who walk the face of this Earth, very few get the opportunity to photograph Fashion Week in New York. Of those few, even fewer get to see what goes on backstage prior to a fashion show on the biggest “stage.” Cameras flashing, interviews taking place, makeup being applied, hair being done, clothes being tried on (nudity, lol), and just a furious rush to make sure everything is ready in time for the show.

Having said all that, THIS backstage was fairly uneventful. lol I dropped the ball on getting the full backstage experience because I didn’t realize there were TWO of them – on entirely separate floors. The one I shot in was just for hair/makeup, and there was an entirely separate one for wardrobe on another floor. I didn’t discover the wardrobe one until it was time for me to secure a spot in the risers. No worries, though. It wasn’t my only backstage experience during fashion week, and these shots are bonus.

The second interesting thing about this show was the backdrop. Note the bags of potato chips in the background. lol Real bags. Hundreds of them. Yet, I still felt awkward when I considered taking one. I don’t even eat chips. The colorful background went well with the colorful collection, though.

The third interesting thing about this show was that Omarion was in attendance. That was probably the most random sighting I had during all of fashion week. lol Even more wild was the fact that they brought him in like he was Barack Obama. lol Everyone was seated, the lights were down, then I heard someone say “OK, bring him in.” Then he was quickly ushered in to his front row seat. I got excited. “Who is that??!?” Then… “Oh. It’s just Omarion.” lol

I liked some of what I saw at this show. I’m a fan of the colors … photographically. They look good in images. I could never see myself actually wearing something that loud. I’m also not totally on board with the man bag phase just yet. Some of them I like – those that resemble briefcase, or even over-the-shoulder ones that you can wear across the body. Whatever the man in the picture below is carrying … I’m straight on that. lol I love the photo though!

Shit looks like a fashionable laundry bag. Gotta take your clothes to the laundromat in style, right?

Anywho… check out a few more pics, and return on Monday for… I don’t know yet. But I’ll be posting SOMETHING on Monday!

For a full gallery, head here —–> http://www.flickr.com/photos/dtownpistonsfan/sets/72157627663621319/

I first ran into celebrity stylist June Ambrose following the Tracy Reese runway show at #MBFW. Well, “ran into” is being generous. “Viewed from a distance” would be a bit more accurate. I had a long zoom lens on my camera, and was able to snap a semi-respectable shot, but I was far from satisfied. I was super far away, it was dark so I had to use flash, and people were swarming her. I was never able to get a set shot.

Fortunately for me, I (as well as a couple other photographers) caught Ms. Ambrose again outside in the plaza a bit later in the day, and she was generous enough to pose for a few photos. As you can see, she looked absolutely stunning/gorgeous. I didn’t get the opportunity to speak with her, but I hope to one day. She has such a positive vibe/energy, that was incredibly infectious. She seems to be a genuinely kind person, which only serves to enhance her natural beauty. I’m very fortunate to have photographed her.

Well, I’m nearly a week late, but the first in what will be more than a dozen blog entries revolving around Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has arrived. The fact that I have a dead laptop is the primary reason for the delay. If I had a functioning laptop, I’d have been blogging FROM New York instead of waiting until I got home. Seeing as how there are so many blog entries to be posted over the course of the next few weeks, I won’t spend too much time talking about fashion week as a whole. I’ll just say a little bit in each post. Also, FYI, “Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week” will be referred to as “#MBFW” from this point on.

I’ll start by briefly explaining how these images will differ from the vast majority of the images in future posts. During #MBFW, there are runway shows and presentations. I’m sure all of you are aware of what a runway show is, and what it looks like. During a presentation, the models just stand there and allow you to photograph them. Generally, whenever someone holds a camera up to them, they’ll look at that camera and begin posing. It’s a VERY convenient way to get stunning head shots and mid-length (or full-length) poses.

So, that is what I did. I shot 2 or 3 presentations during my time at #MBFW, and I decided to use those shows as an opportunity to take head shots and mid-length shots. As you’ve probably figured out by now, Rachel Roy’s presentation was one of those shows.

I was fortunate enough to be able to get to Rachel Roy’s show early, and get my photographs in before they let in the general public. There will be more in a future blog post on just HOW lucky I was. Seeing as how I did in fact love the clothes, I didn’t want to take JUST head shots. So, I went to each model (well, not ALL of them) and photographed them at about mid-length in order to capture some of the clothing, and then I grabbed a few head shots.

Honestly, I WOULD have taken full-length shots as well, but I only had a long zoom lens on my camera and a standard fixed lens in my bag. I left my wide angle zoom lens in my hotel room. Seeing as how this presentation took place on a balcony, I would have had to levitate 30 feet above the ground to get full body shots with the lenses I had on me. lol

Overall, I’m VERY happy with how these images came out. This set of images is probably my favorite out of all the ones I’ve edited thus far – and it was the easiest shoot. All I had to do was point and shoot. The outdoor balcony was well-lit, the models were gorgeous, and their looks were crafted to perfection. Check out some more pics, and you can head over here to see a full gallery —————————————————————————————————–> http://www.flickr.com/photos/dtownpistonsfan/sets/72157627581412993/

For future posts, I’ve decided that the format will be images (of course), and the text will be partially about that specific show/designer, mixed with a little bit of inside info about my first time in New York as well. Enjoy these images, and I’ll be back in a day or two with another #MBFW post.

This past Sunday marked the launch of HoneyBoom, an up and coming online pop-up shop featuring vintage sportswear, streetwear, jewelry, & accessories ( http://www.hnybm.com ). Created by Christine “Ris” Tena, the HoneyBoom Launch Party took place at The Alley Deck, which sits atop The Magic Stick in downtown Detroit. With downtown Detroit as the backdrop, HoneyBoom launched with beats by the great DJ Sicari, $3 margaritas and sangria, and a rooftop fashion presentation – complete with blow up swimming pool!

A good time was had by all in attendance, including yours truly. I always enjoy a good fashion show, hanging with cool peeps, and of course a strong drink or two (or five). Detroit’s finest models were draped in several different looks apiece for the fashion presentation portion of the party. I saw some stuff I liked, including the sunglasses on the model below. I don’ t think a man could pull them off, but I think they’re pretty dope glasses nonetheless.

My focus was solely on getting dope shots, and I think I achieved that goal. All of these shots were taken with my nifty 50mm f/1.4 lens (dats ma baybee!!), and I think my favorite shot of the event is the one at the top of this entry. I know Ris was probably upset about the rain, but the overcast sky provided a great light, and downtown Detroit provided an amazing backdrop. Taking great photos couldn’t have been any easier, but much credit is due to Ris for the great clothes – and whoever did the makeup did a great job too. So congrats to Ris on an unquestionably successful launch, and a shout out to the homie Jess Noel ( @JessNoel on Twitter ) for doing a great job organizing the event. Everyone involved did a great job. Check out some more pics, and if you want to see the full 86-picture gallery, head over to my Facebook fan page (while you’re there, don’t forget to “like” me as well!). http://www.facebook.com/michaellacombephotography

Over the weekend, among many other things, I did my part to help an aspiring model get her portfolio together. It’s been a while since I’ve done a portrait session. There have been dozens of events, some self portraits, some sessions with my son, and even a couple weddings, but no portrait sessions. I was a little rusty, but I’ve learned a lot since the last time I did a daytime portrait session. I’ll be delivering the images to the client tomorrow. I spent several hours perfecting them, and I expect her to be fully satisfied. Still, you’re always a little nervous that they may not be satisfied. Let me know what you guys think, and I’ll be back very soon with some wedding images and some big news!